This week marks the opening of the Tokyo Paralympic Games, a moment when the world will come together to celebrate. One of the athletes hoping to compete was NILOFAR BAYAT, captain of the women’s wheelchair basketball team for Afghanistan.

As a child, Nilofar was injured and left disabled by a Taliban rocket attack on her home, in which her brother died. In recent years, she has become a symbol of hope in her country, a passionate defender of rights for women and the disabled community, and a fierce critic of the Taliban. Our team has spent the past 18 months filming her story as part of a documentary about the Paralympics.

Last week, as Taliban forces encircled her home town of Kabul, Nilofar and her husband Ramesh knew their lives were in danger. Her outspoken views and campaigning had made her a target, so they were forced to flee.

In the chaos at Kabul airport, the couple were beaten by Taliban forces and all their belongings stolen. Eventually, a German soldier was able to smuggle them through a side gate - and Nilofar and Ramesh escaped to Spain.

The couple are now in Bilbao. Although the government has provided them with an apartment, their escape has left them with nothing other than the clothes they fled in.

Will you help Nilofar and Ramesh start a new life together? Any donation would be incredibly gratefully received by the couple, as they begin to rebuild their lives once more.

Thank you

Calum Campbell & Mat Whitecross